Configuring Screen Capture Data Storage

Screen capture data takes up more storage space than metadata and is configured separately.

There are 3 ways to store ObserveIT screen capture data:

• In the SQL Server database.

• In the file-system on a single, standard hard drive known as "Warm" storage.

• In the file-system on a fast SSD-based hard drive ("Hot" storage) in addition to the standard hard drive ("Warm" storage). For details on how to configure SSD-based Hot storage, see Configuring Screenshots Storage Optimizer.

In the Screen Capture Data tab of the Configuration > Storage page, you can:

• View active screen capture data storage information when using the SQL Server database.

• View and configure active screen capture data storage when using the file system or a network share, on a standard hard drive or fast SSD-based hard drive.

• Create new file system locations for screen capture data.

• View local/network paths which were previously used by the system to store screen capture data.

Note that the contents of the Screen Capture Data tab differ depending on the selected method of storage.

Viewing Screen Capture Data Storage when using the SQL Server Database

When the SQL Server database is used for storing screen image data (the default method), you can view the information about the currently active screen capture data storage.

To view screen capture data stored in the SQL Server database (default storage method)

1. Navigate to Configuration > Storage.

2. Click the Screen Capture Data tab.

   

   The following information is displayed:

   • Screen capture data stored in: SQL Server

   • Database Server: Name of the server hosting the SQL Server.

   • Database name: Name of the database storing the screen capture images.

   • Database path: Path to the location of the database.

   • Date range of included sessions: First date (and time) to last date (and time).

   • Current screen capture storage: Size of storage for current screen capture session (GB) and number of slides.

Configuring Screen Capture Data Storage using a single standard hard drive or network share

When using the file system for screen capture storage, you must have enough space on the disks that store the folder in which you want to store all the recorded screenshots. When using a single file system, if the disk is full, the system stops recording, and you will need to remove data from the disk in order to continue recording. To extend and manage your file system storage without disrupting recording, ObserveIT enables you to configure multiple file systems. This means that when file system disks become full, you can define new file system locations to hold the ObserveIT screen capture data. You can define multiple file system locations for each database.

You will still be able to access the "old" file system locations in order to replay their recorded sessions.

By configuring a threshold for a system event to occur just before the file system reaches its maximum allocated storage, you can be alerted to configure additional storage before you experience screen capture data loss. The previous file system location will still be fully available for playback even while new screen capture data will be written to the new location.

ObserveIT automatically manages the directory where you specify that screenshot data should be stored, including an auto-generated subdirectory tree per date and per session. The folder structure is automatically created so that the file system location (with the screen captures) appears as a subfolder to the database (which contains the related metadata). In this way, all relevant session data is kept together. Since you can define multiple file system locations for each database, you can also have a number of databases each with several file system locations.

From the Screen Capture Data tab, you can configure multiple file systems, which enables you to extend and manage your file system storage without disrupting recording.

In addition to viewing specific information about the active screen capture data storage, you can:

1. Define a threshold that will trigger a system event if the file system reaches its maximum allocated storage.

2. Create new file system locations for screen capture data.

3. View previous file system locations in order to replay recorded sessions.

The following information is displayed about the currently active screen capture data storage:

• Screen capture data stored in: File System

• File system location: File system path (local on server, or network share)

• Date range of included sessions: First date (and time) to last date (and time)

• Current screen capture storage: Size of storage for current screen capture session (GB) and number of slides

• Low disk space notification: "Not Configured"/threshold showing the maximum actual disk space allocated for the screen capture data

To configure screen capture data storage a single standard hard drive or network share

1. In the Active Screen Capture Data Storage section of the Screen Capture Data tab, click Change storage mode.

2. In the Storage Mode dialog box, select "Only on a single standard hard drive".

   

3. In the Storage path field, enter the path to the device and click Test Access to test access and permissions to the indicated storage location.

To configure a threshold for a system event if the file system reaches its maximum allocated storage

1. In the Screen Capture Data tab, click the Change button (next to Low disk space notification) to open a dialog box that lets you configure/specify a different threshold.

   

2. Select the check box Generate a system event when the disk contains more than

   To clear a system event, clear this check box, and click OK.

3. Specify the maximum disk space that you want to allocate for the screen capture data, by entering values in the % and GB fields.

4. Click OK.

   A system event will be generated when the disk reaches the specified values. If the event is ignored, after the allocated disk space is reached, you may experience screen capture data loss.

   A message will be sent to the user after SMTP settings are configured and a recipient email address is configured (see Configuring Email Notification Settings for Events).

Creating a New File System Location for Screen Capture Data

Before the current file system location reaches its maximum allocated storage, you can select a new file system location to hold the ObserveIT screen capture data.

The previous location will still be fully available for playback even while new screen capture data will be written to the new location.

To create a new file system location for screen capture data

1. In the Screen Capture Data tab, click the New Screen Capture Storage Location button.

   The New Screen Capture Storage Location dialog box opens.

   

2. Enter a new file system path, and click Verify.

   The system checks that the new path exists, has not already been used, and is not a subfolder of an already used path. The system also checks that the user account used by the ObserveIT application pool on the Web console has read and write permissions for the specified path.

3. Click OK.

   If required, you can also configure a threshold setting for the new path that will generate a system event.

   Before the changes and data are written to the new path, a confirmation dialog box opens:

   "You are about to change the screen capture data storage location from <old path> to <new path>. This action cannot be reversed. However, as long as the path to the previous location is still accessible by the system, data in it can be replayed. After you click "Yes", all new session screen capture data will be stored in the new path. Are you sure that you want to proceed?"

4. Click Yes to proceed.

   Once committed, the active path will change to the new path. The old path will be displayed in the Additional Screen Capture Data Storage section with the status Available.

The folder structure is automatically created so that the file system location (with the screen captures) appears as a subfolder to the database (which contains the related metadata). In this way, all relevant session data is kept together. Since you can define multiple file system locations for each active database, you can also see a number of databases each with several file system locations.

Viewing Additional Screen Capture Data Storage

To view additional screen capture data storage

1. In the Additional Screen Capture Data Storage section (in the Screen Capture Data tab), view the local/network paths which were previously used by the system to store screen capture data. This is unarchived data. To ensure playback availability, these paths must remain accessible. They appear in the list with the status "Available".

2. Select the check box Show all paths (including empty or unavailable) to view details of file paths which are currently unavailable for screen playback, or are empty (that is, they do not contain any screen capture data, possibly due to content archiving).

   For each file system path, the following information is displayed:

   • Path Location: File system path (local on server, or network share).

   • Status: "Available", "Empty" or "Unavailable".

   • Size (GB): Size of storage for screen capture session (in GB).

   • Slides: The total number of slides of all sessions in the specific storage path.

   • Date Added: Date that the file system path was created.

   • Added By: The user that created the file system path.

   • Last Session Date: Date of the last session in the specific storage path.

   

If the status of a file path entry is "Empty", you can remove it by clicking the Remove link next to it.